Locke Lord's Jennifer Kenedy, Michael Renetzky and Steve Whitmer Chosen as Crain's Chicago Business 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Law Honorees

(CHICAGO) November 19, 2021 – Chicago Partners Jennifer Kenedy, Michael Renetzky and Steve Whitmer have been selected by Crain’s Chicago Business as 2021 Notable Gen X Leader in Law honorees, recognizing the most distinguished attorneys who have reshaped the legal landscape and are leading the next generation in the legal profession.

Kenedy is a Vice Chair of Locke Lord’s Executive Committee. Previously, she was the first female Managing Partner of the Firm’s Chicago office and co-founded and led the Firm’s Women’s Initiative. Kenedy serves as the Firm’s Deputy General Counsel and Chairs Locke Lord’s Business Transformation Task Force, which is working to ensure the Firm leads the industry in transforming the way it provides legal services in a post-COVID-19 world. She also Chairs the Firm’s Flexible Work Arrangement Committee. Kenedy co-founded and serves as an Advisory Board Member of The Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law, a nonprofit membership association bringing together organizations dedicated to advancing women lawyers. She also co-founded Women Office Managing Partners and is an Executive Board Member of Chicago Bear Allen Robinson’s Within Reach Foundation, which provides educational opportunities and resources to underserved Chicago students. Kenedy has been active in many additional community and professional organizations, including The Fairway Network, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and The Executives’ Club of Chicago.

Kenedy has a full-time national trial practice focusing on commercial litigation, including trade secret misappropriation and other intellectual property litigation, employment and contractual disputes, construction, catastrophic product liability, transportation and real estate. She mediates, arbitrates and tries cases nationwide. Her focus is on counseling clients to avoid the courtroom but, when court cannot be avoided, she brings substantial courtroom experience to significant matters for clients in the financial services, insurance, consumer product, manufacturing, transportation, governmental, health care and food industries.

Renetzky is Managing Partner of Locke Lord’s Chicago office and Co-Leader of the Firm’s Investment Adviser and Alternative Funds Practice. He is also Chair of the Firm’s Finance Committee and a member of the Firm’s UK Executive Committee. He previously served as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. A recognized leader in the Chicago community, Renetzky is the Chairman of the Board of Lutheran Life Communities, a faith-based nonprofit system of life plan communities serving seniors and their families, having recently served as its Interim CEO for five months. He serves on the Board of Directors of Trees That Feed Foundation, a secular nonprofit dedicated to planting food-bearing trees to feed people, create jobs and benefit the environment. Renetzky also serves as President of the Board of the Chicago Bible Society and immediate past President and Chairman of the Board of Lutheran Church of the Atonement. In 2019, Renetzky was also selected as one of the inaugural Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Gen X Leaders in Law.

Renetzky focuses his practice on investment management, securities and corporate law. He has considerable experience counseling clients on governance matters, securities law compliance, debt and equity financing matters, and investment adviser, investment company and broker-dealer regulation. Additionally, he devotes a substantial portion of his time to representing buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions transactions. Renetzky frequently counsels boards of directors and assists clients with governance matters.

Whitmer serves on Locke Lord’s Executive Committee and is a former member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. He has been actively involved in the Firm’s law school hiring process, working to recruit, retain and ensure the success of diverse candidates. He is a former President of the Board of Trustees for Outreach Community Ministries, a nonprofit Christian community organization that serves the underprivileged in DuPage County, Ill., through neighborhood resource, counseling, transitional housing and an employment training center. He has also served in youth ministry positions at his church, Willow Creek Wheaton, currently serving as a small group leader for eighth-grade boys.

Whitmer’s practice is focused on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters involving all types of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, false advertising, fraud and unfair business practices. He has represented clients at all levels of federal and state courts throughout the country, arbitrations, mediations and regulatory proceedings. Whitmer regularly represents insurers, reinsurers and state insurance guaranty funds. He has been lead hearing counsel for national corporations in state insurance department approval proceedings. Whitmer has also argued insurance disputes before the Illinois Supreme Court and state and federal appellate courts throughout the country.

###

About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.